Bayern’s first visit to Fortuna Düsseldorf in 15 years was as one-sided an encounter as they come, the league leaders briskly exploiting the gulf in class between themselves and the cowering home side to maintain their 100 percent winning run, and set a new record with the best-ever start to a season in Bundesliga history.
The 54,000 capacity crowd at the Esprit Arena saw Jupp Heynckes’ men utterly dominate play from the off, but it took almost half an hour before Mario Mandzukic finally put away one of his side’s host of chances and tapped home the long overdue opener. Luiz Gustavo doubled the lead with an soft goal before the interval, after a first 45 minutes in which Manuel Neuer did not have a shot to save.
The one-way traffic continued after the break and Thomas Müller added a fine third ten minutes into the second half, before the visitors shifted into training ground mode for a spell and effortlessly ran down the clock. The win turned into a rout at the end with Müller completing his brace and sub Rafinha making it five, as FCB comprehensively handed the men from Düsseldorf their first home defeat in 2012.
An eighth win on the bounce means Bayern now have a perfect 24 points from eight games and maintain their five-point lead in the top flight standings. The Bavarians play again in just three days with the Champions League trip to OSC Lille on Tuesday, before resuming their Bundesliga campaign at home to Bayer Leverkusen in the late afternoon of Sunday 28 October.
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